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Local, state and federal authorities responded to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning after a suspected gunman entered the school and fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults members. As night dawns, mourners have poured into vigils to honor those killed.

People grieve outside the overflow area of a vigil at the Saint Rose of Lima church for victims of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012. See more photos from the scene here.

Local, state and federal authorities responded to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday morning after a suspected gunman entered the school and fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults. As night fell, mourners poured into vigils to honor those killed. This page is no longer being updated with additional details, but check TIME.com for news and analysis from the scene in Newtown.

7:00 p.m.: Several vigils have started around the Newtown area to remember the victims of today’s shooting. Hartford news station WFSB has rounded up many of the remembrance ceremonies happening in the vicinity of the school. Instagram user rueby posted this photo of mourners walking into St. Rose of Lima church in Newtown, located a mile away from the scene of the tragedy.

6:45 p.m.: Adam Lanza allegedly killed his mother at their Yogananda St. home early Friday morning, the Associated Press reports. He then headed to Sandy Hook Elementary to carry out his shooting spree.

6:40 p.m.: Conn. Gov. Dannel Malloy has ordered U.S. and Connecticut flags flown at half-staff in mourning for shooting victims until burial services.

The Associated Press reports that Lanza drove to the school in his mother’s car. Police found three guns at the scene: a .223 caliber rifle, and Glock and Sig Sauer pistols. NBC News reports that a rifle used in the shooting and two pistols were legally purchased and registered to the gunman’s mother, Nancy Lanza. But in a public records search, TIME was unable to find any firearms or weapons permits under Nancy Lanza’s name.

6:10 p.m.: Authorities say that Ryan Lanza, 24, the brother of shooting suspect Adam Lanza, 20, is now not believed to have any involvement in the mass shooting on Friday, according to the Associated Press. He had earlier been questioned by police.

6:00 p.m.: “Evil visited this community today,” said Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy at a briefing Friday evening. “As you know there area a number of victims, teachers, beautiful beautiful children who had simply come to school to learn. Their days ended a different way than any of us can possibly imagine.”

5:45 p.m.: Earlier this afternoon, the CBS affiliate in New York City showed video of a man said to be Ryan Lanza being taken into police custody in Hoboken, N.J. Ryan Lanza, 24, is reportedly the brother of shooting suspect Adam Lanza. Ryan Lanza was raised in Newtown, Conn. but currently lives in Hoboken, N.J., according to public records obtained by TIME.

5:30 p.m.: The principal of Columbine High School, site of one of the deadliest school shootings in history, sounded off to the AP about the tragedy of recent shootings in America. “You go to a movie theater in Aurora and all of a sudden your life is taken,” Columbine principal Frank DeAngelis said. “You’re at a shopping mall in Portland, Ore., and your life is taken. This morning, when parents kissed their kids goodbye knowing that they are going to be home to celebrate the holiday season coming up, you don’t expect this to happen. I think as a society, we need to come together. It has to stop, these senseless deaths.”

5:20 p.m.: In an e-mail sent Friday afternoon to staff members, sports network ESPN is changing its weekend coverage plans. Staffers have been asked to cease all tweeting about sports, out of respect for the victims, until noon on Sunday. Additionally, anchors and reporters have been asked to “acknowledge the tragedy” as soon as they come on-air and start broadcasts with reactions from players and coaches before moving into sports-centric news. The network has banned the work “shooter” and other inappropriate terms in the aftermath. ESPN is based in Bristol, Conn., 30 miles northeast of Newtown.

5:10 p.m.: Stories of the day’s heroism are beginning to emerge. Robert Licata told the Associated Press that his 6-year-old son was in a classroom when the suspected gunman barged in and, without uttering a word, shot the teacher. “That’s when my son grabbed a bunch of his friends and ran out the door,” Licata said. “He was very brave. He waited for his friends.”

5:00 p.m.: Lt. Paul Vance said at a Friday evening press conference that in addition to the 26 fatalities, one person was injured but did survive.

4:45 p.m.: More than a dozen police cars responded this afternoon to 36 Yogananda Street in Sandy Hook neighborhood of Newtown, Conn. (map) The 3,000-square-foot home was built in 1998 and is owned by Peter and Nancy Lanza, according to property records obtained by Patch Newtown.

4:35 p.m.: Watch President Obama’s tearful speech to the nation given on Friday afternoon, in which he expressed his grief for the victims and their parents.

The school recently installed a new security system at the school, including visual monitors at all the entryways, according to CNN.

Jessica Hill / AP

A woman waits to hear about her sister, a teacher, following a shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

4:30 p.m.: TIME’s Christina Crapanzano reports from a fire station in Newtown, Conn., near the scene of the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school:

Outside a firehouse bedecked with wreaths and Christmas trees earlier today, a woman in khakis and a red hooded sweater was being escorted to her car by police. Glassy-eyed she shook her head, saying, ” I can’t believe they’d do this to children.” Another young woman was carrying a neon yellow stuffed animal with her. The back seats of at least 3 patrol cars were filled with women of varied ages, apparently from their 30s to their 50s. In one patrol car three women sat in the back seat, eyes fixed forward, no one talking to each other or looking at each other. One woman collapsed in the street outside of the fire house into another woman’s arms, screaming “Oh my God,” and “Why did they take my baby?” The firehouse’s flag stood at half mast.

President Obama ordered all federal flags lowered to half-staff to honor the victims.

4:20 p.m.: A law enforcement official confirms Adam Lanza, 20, is the suspect in the shooting, the Associated Press reports. Ryan Lanza, 24, of Hoboken, N.J., is currently being questioned by police. The AP says an earlier report “mistakenly transposed the brothers’ first names.”

4:15 p.m.: With the death toll standing at 26 plus the shooter, this incident has become the second deadliest shooting in U.S. history. The deadliest shooting, the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, claimed the lives of 32 plus the gunman.

4:07 p.m.: (UPDATED) The Associated Press is reporting that the suspect in the shooting is a 20-year-old son of a teacher at the elementary school. The AP initially reported the shooter as 24-year-old Ryan Lanza, citing law enforcement officials. His brother is being held for questioning, the agency is reporting, saying he could have been a possible second shooter in the incident. The official also told the Associated Press that Ryan Lanza’s girlfriend and another friend are missing in New Jersey.

4:02. p.m.: Lt. Paul Vance said the shooting took place in one section of the school in two rooms. A secondary crime scene is set up in Newtown and “there is an adult deceased at that location.”

3:53 p.m.: Conn. Gov. Dannel Malloy confirmed that the suspect is dead as well as a person that he lived with. “You can never be prepared for this type of incident,” he said at a press briefing. “What has happened will leave a mark on this community and every family impacted.”

3:45 p.m.: In the shooting, “18 children were pronounced dead at the scene, 2 were transported to area hospitals and later pronounced dead. There were 6 adults pronounced dead at the scene,” according to Lt. Paul Vance of the Connecticut State Police,. “The shooting took place in one section of the school in two rooms.” One other person was also injured, said Vance. The six dead adults do not include the shooter who was also dead at the scene, he said.

3:30 p.m.: Police cars are currently surrounding an address in Hoboken, N.J., in connection with the shooting according to the HudsonReporter. The paper says the shooting suspect may live there.

3:20 p.m.: An emotional President Obama, himself the father of two daughters, wiped away tears as he spoke at a briefing on the mass shooting. “We have endured too many of these sorts of tragedies in the past few years,” he said. “Each time I learn the news I react not as a president but as anybody else would as a parent…There’s not a parent in America that does not feel the same overwhelming grief that I do.”

3:09 p.m.: U.S. House Speaker John Boehner has ordered flags on Capitol Hill to be flown at half mast in mourning over the shooting in Newtown, Conn., according to the AP.

3:01 p.m.: The suspect in the shooting is 24 years old, the Associated Press has reported. His younger brother is being held in custody, the AP says.

2:56 p.m.: The AP reports that 27 people were killed in the gunman’s rampage this morning. A law enforcement official told the AP that the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Another person was found dead on Yogananda St. in Newtown, near the school, the Hartford Courant reported.

2:51 p.m.: President Obama is scheduled to speak on the Connecticut school shooting at 3:15 PM, reports TIME’s Adam Sorensen.

2:41 p.m.: Just after the shooting, police raided a home in the Sandy Hook area of Newtown, Conn., in connection with the shooting, according to Newtown Patch. At least 15 police cars are at the scene.

2:30 p.m.: The Newtown Unified School District just recently initiated new safety procedures to prevent dangerous incidents of this nature, WCBS reports.

2:05 p.m.: Sandy Hook School did evacuation and safety drills only two months ago. “Safety first at Sandy Hook…It’s a beautiful day for our annual evacuation drill,” Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung tweeted with a photo of the drill on October 17.

“I saw policemen — lots of policemen in the hallway with guns. The police took us out of the school. We were told to hold each others’ hands and to close our eyes. We opened our eyes when we were outside,” 9-year-old fourth grader Vanessa Bajraliu told the Hartford Courant.

2:00 p.m.: Brenda Lebinski, parent of an 8-year-old at the school, credits a teacher at the school with protecting the children while the shooter was in the building. “My daughter’s teacher is my hero,” Lebinski told Newtown Patch. “She locked all the kids in a closet and that saved their lives.”

Shortly after the shooting, the school was swamped with parents rushing to pick up their children. Photo from mscheunemann / Instagram

1:55 p.m.: Of the 12 deadliest shooting attacks in U.S. history, six have occurred since 2007, including Newtown, if the AP reports are correct, according to the Washington Post.

1:45 p.m.: Both students and staff were among the dead in the school shooting, according to Lt. Paul Vance, spokesman for Connecticut State Police. Vance just wrapped up a brief press conference revealing a few minor updates on the situation. “There were several fatalities at the scene, both students and staff, but there is no information relative to the incident until proper notification is sent out,” Vance said. Upon arrival, police began a complete active shooter search of the building. “Our main objective was to evacuate the entire school,” Vance said. “Students and staff were moved to a staging area outside of the school, then were subsequently reunited with their parents.”

1:35 p.m.: Sandy Hook Elementary is located in the small town of Newtown, Conn., a community of 27,000 in the southwestern part of the state. The town is located near Danbury, 50 miles southwest of Hartford.

1:30 p.m.: Details about the alleged shooter are starting to trickle out, with the Associated Press reporting that he is a 20-year-old man with ties to the school. A law enforcement official said that a gun used in the attack was a .223-caliber rifle.

1:25 p.m.: If the death toll is officially confirmed, Newtown would instantly become the most deadly K-12 shooting in history, surpassing the 15 killed at Columbine High School in 1999.

1:20 p.m.: State police sent a “platoon of troops” to the scene at about 9:41 a.m., according to Lt. Paul Vance, spokesman for Connecticut State Police. According to the Hartford Courant, officials set up triage area with ambulances behind nearby fire station. The students in the above photo were escorted to the fire station by state police officers. After initial reports of the shooting, the Newtown Unified School District went on emergency lockdown, according to school officials

1:10 p.m.: 27 people have been killed, including 18 children, according to the Associated Press, citing an anonymous official with knowledge of the situation. NBC News is reporting a death toll of 26. Around 600 students attend the school.

1:00 p.m.: (NEWTOWN, Conn.) — A shooting at a Connecticut elementary school Friday left the gunman dead and at least one teacher wounded and sent frightened pupils into the parking lot. (Above photo of children being escorted is provided by Shannon Hicks, of the Newtown Bee newspaper)

The shooter was killed and apparently had two guns, a person with knowledge of the shooting said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way. It wasn’t clear how many people were injured at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

A dispatcher at the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps said a teacher had been shot in the foot and taken to Danbury Hospital. Andrea Rynn, a spokeswoman at the hospital, said it had three patients from the school but she did not have information on the extent or nature of their injuries.

Stephen Delgiadice said his 8-year-old daughter heard two big bangs and teachers told her to get in a corner. His daughter was fine. “It’s alarming, especially in Newtown, Connecticut, which we always thought was the safest place in America,” he said.

The superintendent’s office said the district had locked down schools in Newtown, about 60 miles northeast of New York City. Schools in neighboring towns also were locked down as a precaution.

State police said Newtown police called them around 9:40 a.m. A SWAT team was among the throngs of police to respond.

A photo posted by The Newtown Bee newspaper showed a group of young students — some crying, others looking visibly frightened — being escorted by adults through a parking lot in a line, hands on each other’s shoulders.

The White House said President Barack Obama was notified of the shooting.

Are people serious about blaming TV programs, music, or video games? As a 20 year old male, who plays and watches many violent games, movies, tv shows, or whatever else, the last thing on my mind is, "yeah im gonna go kill some kids". People act like there was never any senseless acts of violence before the last few decades.

What's the commonality here among the recent shootings? And I don't mean guns. It's the age. Late teens or 20's. It's time to stop focusing in on just the guns and start looking at the video games that these young people are numbing their minds with. Would love to see a study of how many of these perps played these games growing up.

why are these US public schools do not have security guards who will not just let anybody get in the school? only private schools have these? it's about time they hire security people to guard all school premises. maybe have new gun control program. laxity in owning guns can be blame for this tragedy.

Target shooting and hunting do not require automatic weapons with magazines. You can do these activities with revolvers and bolt action rifles. But I suspect that banning the sale of these style of weapons will be as effective as the prohibition of alcohol was and the laws against drugs are. Those who want them will obtain them, the public authorities will just not know who has them, nor be able to regulate them. So don't look to the banning as a solution. These shootings seem to be intra-family or by individuals with a history of disturbed behavior. Family passions flare suddenly, and a gun in the house is a tragedy waiting to happen. But, I don't see how we can intervene if the family chooses to have weapons at home. In the other case, we usually hear that the disturbed individuals were recognized as risks long before the shootings happened. Health care professionals and law enforcement need to have the authority to hospitalize those that pose a risk to themselves or others, against their will if necessary.

I'm a Thai people who have ever studied and stayed in Connecticut for years. My experience with this beautiful state and local people were very impressive. The shooting tragedy is shocking and unbelievable. I sincerely would like to pass my condolences to all victims's family and friends for this tragic loss.

JohnForsthoffer Agree with what you say, except for the part about putting blame on "television, video games, bad parenting". Those are the same excuses you are against with regard to the blame on guns. Some people are just sick. Born sick. TV doesn't cause violence, just the same as rock music isn't to blame when someone kills. Let's put blame where it belongs, on the shooter!

I say anyone, who after this tragedy dares defend the current gun politics in the US is indirectly an accomplice of these psychopats. The NRA and GOA are criminal organizations and should be outlawed at once.

Quoting the Second Amendment is unbelievably stupid. It's EXACTLY like claiming that we should reinstate the burning of heretics. Human stupidity, as Einstein once stated, is infinite, because we can't even learn from our own mistakes. It's just outrageous that the supposedly most advanced democracy in the world stubbornly insists on 220 year old laws.

It seems like the USA has been repeating the same thing over and over for years and nothing has been changed.Politicians and people start arguing about gun control after some innocent people die... A clear solution? Nope.Any actions taken? No. After years, another tragedy occurs and people start arguing all over again.Any changes? Still no. How many more sacrifices the USA gov wants? Geeeeeez.

My thoughts go out to all the victims and families of this terrible tragedy. They are in my prayers.

This story makes me grateful I am raising my children in New Zealand, where we have strict gun control laws. Everyone who owns a firearm must have a license, and to get a license you have to be vetted by the police and prove that you store the gun under lock and key. Our society functions fine without everyone having access to guns and we have a relatively low crime rate. I cannot understand why Americans feel that they need to have access to guns to be safe when it actually seems the reverse is true.

I agree that people intending to doing harm to others could use knives instead, but no one could walk into a school and murder 26 people with a knife with same ease they could do it with a gun.

This is horrific. If there were stricter gun control laws, these maniacs would find other means to massacre innocent people. Blame it on guns, not the individuals? Really? Quit whining about gun control and open your eyes to the real problems. Television, video games, bad parenting etc.

This tragedy is horrific. I am further horrified by the fact that the violence was brought to an elementary school. I cannot begin to imagine the horror those parents are going through. I am a strong believer of the 2nd amendment. There are many law abiding citizens who take their right to own guns very seriously. If that right is taken away, do any of you seriously think it would make a difference? Think about this seriously. Criminals are criminals because they commit crimes. In other words, they do not follow the law. Do any of you truly believe that a criminal would be unable to get their hands on a weapon if they were banned? If you answered yes to either of those questions, you are seriously mistaken. If this is the case then you better outlaw cars because of drunk drivers and snacky cakes because they make you fat. The way of the world seems to be moving away from personal responsibility and it is shameful, but then our own "leader" is a prime example. Very sad. Thoughts and prayers to those suffering today.

Yes, its about guns, but the reason guns are an issue is because its about society. These types of events are not that hard to understand in a culture that obsessed with greed and stressed out over so many things trying to get ahead and yet never managing to ever feel good enough or that we have enough etc. Makes sense to me that the odd person would eventually snap.

As a culture, we destroy life every day, and really don't even care, we pop kids out without caring if we are truly there for them or caring about the world or environment they will grow up on, we put all sorts of pressures on them and are basically cold-hearted and workaholic about everything. Want to solve some of societies problems? Stop supporting greed, wars (where, yes, US soldiers have killed countless innocents including children), grades, pressures, stresses, excessive dualities, excessive consumerism, competition and start caring about each other and life. Go home, love your kids and stop sticking them in front of violent video games and the violent television shows as their only form of guidance and babysitting..

@seirios It is a very sad day when a mentally ill person harms anyone, but your calling for us innocent gun owners to be declared criminals, because you do not like guns is very, very dangerous. Think Hitler....criminalizing people is not the answer.

@JohnForsthoffer JohnForsthoffer Agree with what you say, except for the part about putting blame on "television, video games, bad parenting". Those are the same excuses you are against with regard to the blame on guns. Some people are just sick. Born sick. TV doesn't cause violence, just the same as rock music isn't to blame when someone kills. Let's put blame where it belongs, on the shooter!

@ew573 you are 100% correct!! Every word.. I couldn't of Said it better.. Too bad most people have their heads buried in the sand & Have the sense God gave dirt! I'm sure your words do not make sense to the Idiots!!!!

@RyanChaney@JohnForsthoffer See, you really can't compare. People are subject to television on a daily basis, you can't say the same with guns. Everyday kids watch sex, violence and the like on television and it becomes the norm. Children and even teens confuse real life with what is on tv.

@akpat@MichaelHaskins No, I stand by what I have written. Search for List of countries by firearm-related death rate. When I left this conversation, I noticed a recent story fom China - a knife not a gun was used, 22 injured - not killed. Just the facts

I witnessed the Pearl MS Luke W being tormented & bullied & just kicked around, put down . He snapped.. I do not agree with killing people.. But I was also so tormented from 1st grade through 9th grade. Not "picked on" "Oh All kids get teased" I was told after being humiliated & physically abused.. No I didn't snap & kill anyone, but I've spent a lifetime with doctors , meds , self hatred, praying for death. I know how it feels to be a child without love from a parent, an accident. The negative attention, the pressure to not be so ugly, hiding in my closet crying, terrified of men. This all began when I was 6yrs old. I am a product of the culture you speak of

@Kuang Thank you for your opinion. However, - this example is a bit not making sense to me. Those are not meant to & invented to kill something but make our life better. Yes, I understand you're implying 'Any stuff around us can be a deadly weapon. Don't just hate firearms' However, what people like me insist is <Yes, everything is dangerous but firearms are one of the easiest and deadly things which can kill massive # of people in a short time. So it gotta be strictly controlled by the gov>. And i'm glad to hear that where you live has a much better gun crime record :) However, like a user named MichaelHaskins said death-rate per 100,000 population in one year in Japan is only 0.07. Having a good low gun crime record is awesome but I don't think any countries allowing people to have personal firearms can still have better record than that : (

Focusing on guns is shallow, anything can be used to murder innocent people. A truck, a car, fire, or bombs which is easier to make then a bicycle. In fact when it comes to the biggest mass murdering incident in the US, which took 3000 lifes, no firearms were involved at all.

@akpat@Lee412 Well, true. Frantic murderers are the problems, not what they used.... but I still think the harder people can access firearms or deadly weapons, the less this kind of tragedy will happen. Not easily like that, not in that short time. So I agree with Lee412.

I am sure the vast majority of Americans are responsible with firearms. Unfortuantly there are a few hideous individuals who for whatever reason want to harm others, and your gun laws make it easier for them to do this.

There is almost 1 handgun per capita in the US and yet you are more likely to be killed in a car. The guys in Casper with a bow. In Britain according Michael there are about 200 deaths from guns and yet they are banned.

@mediatingmensan @missmoli00 Thank you for your kindness. I remember praying, begging God to help me. I was so young my prayer was always Please, please God , make me pretty. Punish those boys for hurting me & why do you let those nuns hurt me? But things got worse. I believed that God didn't love me because I was an accident. The unwanted birth.. It took 50 years & I decided to end my life...then love came to me. As wonderful that is , I've had to learn at 50 I am worth something.. God did answer me.. Again, thank you for your prayers. It's important for people to know that children don't just get over things, every trauma changes brain chemistry.. Our culture focuses on the"pretty people" the rich, the ones that have everything. , excess. As a child the ones like me were abused, hurt & told daily how ugly, worthless, weird etc they are & the others are built up, loved & put on pedestals . It's funny to rape an11 yr old in front of a crowd cheering, crawling home broken & ignored by your parent.. Over the years I've had to forgive my abuser of 6-7 yrs but I will never forget.. Those children that are alive are going to need to be heard, helped & loved. All that I needed which caused my damaged soul, these children need healing help & to feel safe, not like me hiding in a closet crying afraid of tEVErYTHING like me!

@missmoli00 Please pray. Pray for help forgiving all those people who failed you and pray for them to forgive others, too. It helps and heals. I am so sorry for your experiences and am praying for your healing.

@MrObvious@MichaelHaskins There is over 300 million handguns in the USA almost 1 per capita and yet the numbers of people killed by them is small. The problem is that lunatics like this create a big stir but the facts are you are more likely to be killed in a car.